Rainy Day Reads

The Book This is Anne Brontë’s debut novel written under the pen name of Acton Bell. It was first published in 1847 and many believe that it depicts Anne’s own experiences as a governess. It deals with themes of oppression, treatment of animals, empathy and isolation, and at least one incident described in the book is based on real events (Agnes killing a nest of birds to prevent them from being tortured by the young boy of the family she is working for).  The Author Anne Brontë was born in 1820 and died in 1849. She was the youngest of the Brontë sisters and lived with her family most of her life. In her early 20s she worked as a governess, but after leaving that profession in 1845 she started writing. She wrote poems, which were published in a volume of poems written by her and her sisters, and she proceeded to write two novels, “Agnes Grey” and “The Tenant of Wildfell Hall” before she died. All of these were first published under a pseudonym; Acton Bell. Her sis...

This is the third book I can cross off my bingo reading chart challenge, and I must say I am quite proud of myself for getting these books read so soon in the new year.  I decided to read a “Brontë book” that wasn’t “Jane Eyre”, because I have already read “Jane Eyre” and I love it. And you always hear about the Brontë sisters, but I have never read anything else by them. I picked “The Tenant of Wildfell Hall” because I feel like that is the best known one after “Jane Eyre”.  The book is about a young woman who comes to live in a small neighborhood in the country. She rents Wildfell Hall from a young man and lives secluded here with her young son. The neighborhood being as small as it is, its inhabitants are very curious as to any new addition. Some families go to visit the young lady, Mrs. Graham, and she is practically forced into society. A young man, Mr. Markham, ends up falling in love with her, almost despite himself, but Mrs. Graham, a young widow, is a...